Yoder held on all charges in drug, gun case

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After a preliminary hearing into the evidence in a drug and weapons case, Wyatt Yoder was held to answer on all charges and is set for formal arraignment July 29.

Yoder faces charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, as well as possessing a controlled substance for sale and possessing drug paraphernalia after being arrested in September 2012.

Four other people also were arrested at the residence after Nevada County Sheriff’s deputies went to perform a compliance check on a residence in the 16000 block of Meadow Way.

Deputies allegedly located a total of 44 marijuana plants and found ordinance violations that included fencing requirements and square footage.

During a hearing in Nevada County Superior Court Thursday, Nevada County Sheriff’s Deputy John Dzioba testified that when members of the Narcotics Task Force arrived at the residence, they saw a man they knew was Jordan Rose asleep on the deck with binoculars and a hatchet. A second man, identified as Dutch Cooper, subsequently came out of the residence and was identified as being on parole.

Deputies found Yoder in a locked bedroom after they kicked in the door, Dzioba said. Yoder reportedly was lying on the bed, and deputies subsequently found two .22-caliber bullets on the bed.

Dzioba testified that during a search, deputies found a digital scale and a camera bag — containing baggies of meth and a possible “cutting agent” — on the floor. They also found an unloaded .22-caliber pistol in a dresser drawer, and more than $800 in cash.

“That seemed like a lot for someone who was unemployed and on the run,” Dzioba said regarding the cash, in reference to the possibility that Yoder was selling drugs.

On cross-examination, Yoder’s attorney, Stephen Munkelt, tried to raise the possibility that the gun actually belonged to Brandy DeGennaro, who lived at the residence belonging to her father.

Dzioba testified that DeGennaro was at the house with her child and had said she was the only one there. He said he didn’t recall if DeGennaro had told him about the gun.

Munkelt pointed out that the gun was in a dresser drawer containing women’s underwear, then asked Dzioba, “Was Mr. Yoder wearing women’s undergarments?”

“Not that I recall,” Dzioba responded.

Judge R.M. Smith found enough evidence to hold Yoder on all charges, however.

Cooper had been charged with misdemeanor counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and being under the influence of a controlled substance; he pleaded no contest to being under the influence and was sentenced to 180 days in jail in March.

Rose pleaded no contest to being under the influence of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 90 days in jail in November 2012.

DeGennaro pleaded no contest to child endangerment in January and was sentenced to four years probation and 90 days.

Robert Carr, 23, of Grass Valley, was charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance and is set to appear next in court July 29.